REWIRE MUSIC THEORY 

Learn

3.5 Bass Clef

Musicians that play bass instruments read music in bass clef. Being able to identify pitches on the staff in bass clef is going to help you to be able to write your own arrangements and compositions. Reading pitches can be challenging, but with enough practice it can become an automatic process.

  • Watch the walkthrough video.

  • Learn the information below.

Staff: Standard music notation uses “staffs,” the five horizontal lines that notes are placed on. A note can be placed either on the line itself or in the spaces between.
Clef: On the left of each staff is a clef. Clefs tell us which note corresponds to a specific line.
Ledger Lines: Ledger lines are used to display notes above or below the staff.

Bass Clef: The two dots to the right of the clef show where the F line is, which is why the bass clef is also called the "F clef."
Transposing Instruments: Some instruments play or "sound" different pitches than what is notated. The bass guitar, upright bass, and tuba are all transposing instruments because they sound an octave lower than what is written: A bass guitar reads C2 on the staff, but it sounds a C1.

Accidentals: Notes can be raised or lowered one half-step using accidentals. Sharps (#) raise notes and flats (b) lower notes, and they are always written before the note in standard notation. Accidentals remain active for the entire measure. When the measure ends, the accidental resets. Accidentals affect notes in any octave. A natural sign (♮) is used to cancel out a sharp or flat.

DAW + WCM Octave Numbers: Octave numbers used in DAWs and by WCM (Western Classical Music) players are different. The C in the middle of an 88 key keyboard (middle C) is known as C4 by WCM and as C3 in DAW programs.

 

Practice

NOTE IDENTIFICATION

Use the bass clef identification and bass clef reverse identification exercises to practice identifying the note names on the bass clef staff.

 

KEYBOARD IDENTIFICATION

Practice finding notes on the piano keyboard.

 

Read

AUGMENTED NOTATION

Read through the bass note melodies on this Noteflight score. Use the pentascale position that is written above each example for your left hand. The melodies are written in augmented notation to help you read them more easily.

Augmented Notation: The same as standard notation but with three added features—letter names to notes, counts and parenthesis, and finger placement—to make pitch and rhythms easier to decode.

Compose

BASS LINE MOTION

There are many different types of bass line motion. Before writing your own bass lines, learn about each type in the Noteflight score below.

 

COMPOSE YOUR OWN

Write your own bass lines in standard notation using the prompts provided.

OPEN IN NOTEFLIGHT

 

Listen

TRANSCRIBE

Use your ear to transcribe the bass lines in this Noteflight score.